Afternoon Tea with Molly
by Daniela Sumpter
Summary: Hermione and Molly have tea in which the two talk about Ginny's behavior in the past few years.


Hello! My first fic in years. I should really be studying for exams but this plot bunny won't stop tormenting me. So…here it is. :D It's not really HUMOR but it's something light. I wish I could have written more but I really have to study. :D

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters belong to the_ Real_ J.K. Rowling.

"I am so sorry, dear."

Sighing wearily, Hermione Granger set the teaspoon she has been using to stir her hot tea down on the table next to her mug of hot tea. Barely five minutes after arriving at the Burrow and she has already received probably Molly Weasley's hundredth attempt at an apology for something she hasn't even done.

"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault?

"But-"

"Besides, it doesn't matter to us what the other people—the muggles— think. I know you mean well, Molly, and you probably think that it's your responsibility to keep Ginny in check. Maybe it is-"

"See-"

"But she's already a grown woman. She knew what she was getting into the moment she decided to write those books. It's not really your fault when almost all of our friends already made attempts to chastise her."

Finally, Molly ran out of words to counter Hermione's. The middle-aged witch simply took the older witch's silence as an opportunity to sip her tea. Heaving a huge sigh, Molly began,

"I just wish she could move on from Harry. I mean, I can't believe she is still hung up on the wizard even if she already has three kids and a husband. I tried to tell her, the last time we met but that only fueled her temper. Now, it's been a month since I've last seen Gordon and Mackenzie."

The slight downward curl of Molly's lips and the frown on her forehead told Hermione of how the latest argument between mother and daughter must be taking its toll on her. What intrigued the younger witch is that this is probably the longest time any of them has been banned from Ginny's properties scattered all over the United Kingdom.

Since _Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince _came out, most of their friends, in one way or another, made various attempts to talk some sense into Ginny. The first five books were historically accurate, as far as the wizarding world is concerned, but for some reason, things went awry when the sixth book of Ginny's account of Harry's life in Hogwarts came out. Ginny was unyielding and it was then that she started casting wards specifically designed to ban any of her friends or relatives from entering her homes. The first casualty was Ron, who angrily stormed into the house, yelling at her for how she depicted the Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Harry and Hermione, on the other hand, have long been uninvolved with the book's production, despite the series being centered around him. Upon earning their NEWTS at Hogwarts, the two have immediately undergone training in their respective fields of interest. Harry became an auror while Hermione became a healer-researcher. Training was rigorous and by the time they were done, their careers immediately became top priority. They immediately ascended into the ranks which also entailed extended hours at work. They only managed to take control of their own time when Harry was promoted to deputy head auror and, a year later, Hermione, to research team leader of a groundbreaking research on the unforgivable curses at the St. Mungo's Magical Medical Research Center. Both are rare feats for people only in their early twenties.

When they did manage to have time on their own hands, they decided to devote it on their unexplored relationship. The potential was brewing while they were sixteen but between finding horcruxes, defeating the most powerful dark wizard in recent history, and building up their careers, they didn't really have the time to pursue anything between them even if Harry, Ron, and Hermione already share the same flat.

Two years into the relationship, in the year 2004, Harry and Hermione decided to tie the knot. The years that followed were mostly spent on juggling between work and raising their family of two boys and one girl.

Sometimes, they hear feedbacks from Ginny's books but otherwise, they never really bothered to read. Harry especially didn't attempt to read the books in the early days of its release thinking how awkward it is to read a book on his own life. Besides, he was told by his ex-girlfriend that it was her way of coping with the repercussions of the war. He yielded, thinking that if somebody made a book on his life, it might as well be someone he knew and cared about instead of a madwoman like Rita Skeeter. Hermione, on the other hand, was only barely able to manage to squeeze in the first two books in between hospital duties at St. Mungo's.

That all changed when Ron furiously dumped all six books on their living room table one July morning in 2005 demanding that they read all the books, especially the last one and apparating out of the house in a huff. Of course, that was also the time when little James was wreaking havoc into their sleeping patterns that it took them six months to finish the book. When they finally did, Hermione was furious.

Harry attempted to meet up with Ginny to no avail. The woman even had the gall to ward her mansion against him, which he was able to effortlessly counter. The result was a screaming match that left little David crying from the room one floor above and Jessica wondering about Uncle Harry's accusations on her mother's depiction of Aunt Hermione in the book.

Hermione sighed once more, thinking of how this would all have been prevented if they actually read the books early on.

"I guess it all went wrong when Harry and I got married, didn't it?"

"Perhaps, dear. But what I still do not understand is how she could find it in her to write that final chapter in the last book." Molly took another swig from her mug. "I tried to tell her that the last time I visited. I know it's been years since the last book came out but I couldn't help but be concerned of how this will come off in that muggle movie adaptation."

The last book was actually the last straw between Ginny and her friends. After the book came out, one by one, their friends visited to chastise her on how she needs to move on from Harry. Parvati Patil even went as far as accusing her of marrying Neil just because his profile resembled Harry. Of course that earned her an extra strong bat bogey hex that took Hermione two weeks to counter.

Harry and Hermione decided to talk some sense into her by calmly apparating into her house. But all they got was a sneering Ginny telling them that nothing could be done because at that time, more than half of her fans have already finished reading the book. She even added that the last chapter was leaked weeks before the book came out making it impossible to retract the story she has written. Hermione, furious, jinxed her by turning her to a flobberworm. It was a good thing that Jessica heard the jinx being cast in the other room; otherwise, nobody would have known what happened to her mother.

Molly mentioning something about the movie brought a distant memory back to her.

"I've thought about that as well. David and Steve already told me that they tried to negotiate with their bosses at that production company but apparently, they wouldn't yield since being faithful to the book brought more fans to the movie theaters."

"Those are the movie people you've told me about, haven't you?" Molly inquired.

"Yeah. Remember that time we thought about talking to these movie people just to make at least one version of this whole mess right? Well, I was able to convince them that I'm the real Hermione Granger and that the plot of the year six movie has been severely tampered with by the woman they knew to be Jo Rowling. They actually told me that they knew something was wrong with the last books but they couldn't put their fingers on it."

"At least two people now believe that there's something wrong with those books and how they ended!"

Hermione took a last swig of her tea before adding,

"Actually, Victoire flooed me last week. Remember how she's been trying to immerse herself into the muggle world for a few months? Well, she told me about this muggle technology called the internet. The contraption is actually brilliant! I told her that Arthur may be interested in using it." Ignoring the glare Molly directed at her, she continued, "Anyway, she decided to search for her Uncle Harry if anything would come up about the books. And then she came across this one interview Ginny gave telling everyone that anyone who believes in the possibility that Harry and I may end up together are delusional!"

Molly turned a violent shade of red after that. Now her daughter was going too far with her delusions. She barely noticed Hermione standing up to get the tea kettle.

"More tea?" Hermione grinned at the startled look at Molly's face.

"I-I-I-" she sputtered. The younger witch decided for Molly instead by filling her mug with tea.

"Face it, Molly, Ginny's response to that was predictable, after the lengths she has gone through to alter the story. What I'm more pleased about is how it appears that a lot of people aren't buying the crap she's trying to sell."

Of course, Hermione was right. The things her headstrong daughter does to…what does she want to achieve with this, even? She tried asking Ginny about this but it was a question that was always stalled by angry outbursts before they were even asked.

After fixing up the tea, Molly decided to inquire more about the kids.

"They're fine. The kids actually loved reading the books. James reads one chapter a night for everyone before bedtime. It actually makes it easier for everyone to understand Harry. Of course we sometimes clarify some scenes in the chapter for the kids to understand."

"What about the sixth book?"

"What about it? We'll deal with it when the time comes. We're still at the second book, anyway. I guess it'll be complicated to explain that book to the kids since the changes were subtle but significant. Like how the book made it seem how unfeeling I was towards Harry's plight when in fact the three of us were constantly keeping Malfoy in surveillance all throughout the year. It's just that the git was very careful about his tracks that we were unable to get any real solid evidence.

"And that was also the year I became aware of my feelings for Harry."

Between the dreamy look in Hermione's face and this new bit of information, Molly was definitely curious.

"You were? But what about those canaries?"

"I was. The invisibility cloak could only fit two of us by that time that we had to take turns in following Malfoy around. For some reason, Ron always manages to skive off. Harry and I didn't mind, though. It was nice spending time alone with him even if it was to find out Malfoy's illicit actions.

"As for those canaries, well. I'm really sorry but it really was aimed for Harry!"

"What?" Molly raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I caught him and Ginny snogging in a broom closet. I know it's not really something I would do with a clear mind but you have to understand that that was also the time we were starting to spend time together trailing Malfoy. We didn't talk for three weeks but then the horcrux training came up and Malfoy became an issue again that it just didn't seem important anymore. Besides, I thought Harry deserves happiness with whomever he might have feelings for. We did manage to sort that out while we were in hiding."

"And Ron-"

"Thought I'd gone crazy. Before we got married, he admitted that he thought it was strange that Harry hooked up with Ginny when he was actually setting us up by skiving off his Malfoy duties."

Molly would have inquired more about that but a voice calling out from the living room broke her train of thought.

"Molly?"

The two women looked at each other, stood up, and left their mugs at the dining room table.

"Harry?"

Harry Potter's head floated among the flames of the Burrow's fireplace. His illuminated face sported a look full of worry until he spotted Hermione.

"There you are, Hermione! I'm sorry to cut your tea short but there seems to be a problem."

By the look on Harry's face, she could only guess that the problem most likely involved their five year old troublemaker.

"It's Sirius again, isn't it?"

Harry visibly cowered under her wife's intense scrutiny.

"What did he do this time?"

"He-he-he- Oh, bollocks! Remember that disinhibition potion you brought home yesterday? The one that Fred and George were making you test for ingredient interaction? Well—"

"HE DID NOT DRINK IT, DID HE?" Hermione shouted shrilly.

"Well…he might have taken a teeny tiny sip before I pulled it from him—"

Under Hermione's glare he could only manage a tiny, "

"I'm sorry, Molly but I have to go home. How my son manages to sneak my research out of my secret cabinet is beyond me." With that, a small pop of apparition signaled Hermione's departure.

Harry's head, sporting a sheepish grinned, remained in the fireplace, however.

"I-I got sidetracked with reports that I didn't notice until it's too late…Uhm..I have to go now. Say hi to Arthur for me!" and Harry's face disappeared into the flames.

Molly sighed and grinned at the encounter. Harry and Hermione's little marauder should give her own twins a run for their money in the coming years.


End file.
